The first step in dealing with Alzheimer’s or Dementia in your family is educating yourself on your options. Many are unaware that there are reliable at home Dementia Care options available from educated home health care professionals.
Integracare offers at-home Dementia Care services in Toronto and Mississauga to help those with Alzheimer’s disease or Dementia to continue living in the comfort of their own home.
While senior home care can be a sensitive and challenging topic for people to discuss with family, being proactive and finding out what you and your family can do in advance will have long-term advantages. Have the discussion now to help your loved one maintain a comfortable living situation in the future.
Compassionate Alzheimer’s & Dementia Care in Toronto & Mississauga
When you or a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, you need to think carefully about future care options. Alzheimer’s disease and its symptoms (memory loss, reduced motor functions, etc.) progress over the years, which is why it’s essential to consider future needs when discussing health care options.
Planning for Alzheimer’s care well in advance will help your family cope in the difficult, emotional time, and help you to facilitate the best living atmosphere for you or your loved one in the future.
Integracare offers compassionate and flexible live-in and in-home Dementia Care in Toronto and Mississauga that can grow and adapt as symptoms progress. We connect each of our Clients with a Caregiver who specializes in the individual needs of each Client. Our highly qualified and well-trained staff are supervised on a 24/7 basis by Registered Nurses.
As a home health care provider, Integracare is committed to educating 100% of our Caregivers in all four facets of Dementia Care. We provide at home Dementia Care in Toronto and Mississauga for our Clients 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. Our objective is to provide the highest quality of care with compassion and engaging companionship.
Aging in Place for People Living with Alzheimer’s and Dementia
The term “ageing in place” is often used in reference to home health care, as it is the preference of the wide majority of Seniors in North America.
Ageing in place means independence, comfort, familiarity, safety, connection, and community for a Senior. The reality, however, is that progressing symptoms can pose as a challenge when a Senior wants to remain in their home.
Integracare offers at home Dementia Care services in Toronto and Mississauga to help families enable their loved ones to comfortably age in place.
The Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
Early Stage:
At the early stage of Alzheimer’s disease, one can generally still lead a very independent life. While initial memory loss may cause one to forget words or require reminders, one can usually still dress, clean, cook, attend social events, and even drive. One tends to need assistance with things like medication management, financial management, and developing coping strategies to deal with the future.
Middle Stage:
As the disease progresses to the middle stage, one may begin to forget faces or lose one’s sense of direction in a familiar area. Depression, aggression, and erratic moods may become a factor at this time. This is also the stage when memory, coordination, and mobility suffer, and the individual requires greater attention. It is at this stage that people and their families often start to seek out care. Integracare provides in home dementia care with the knowledge that a consistent relationship with a Caregiver at home can help provide comfort and familiarity at this time and delay the onset of the late stage.
Late Stage:
Late-stage Alzheimer’s requires intensive Alzheimer’s Care and the most assistance with the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Integracare makes it possible to continue home care at this stage by providing a Personal Support Worker who can provide live-in or in-home dementia care and accompany a Client to any necessary medical facility.
By providing at-home dementia care services in Toronto and Mississauga, Integracare is able to offer a flexible form of care that can grow and evolve with an individual’s changing symptoms. We firmly believe in promoting independence while also providing the care and assistance individuals need.
Integracare’s Exclusive Partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Toronto
In 2017, Integracare invested in a full suite of comprehensive training programs provided by the Alzheimer Society of Toronto. We continue to put our staff through this training to ensure that all 100 per cent of our Caregivers are equipped with the knowledge and resources needed to support Clients at every stage of Dementia.
This ground-breaking partnership continues to make us the at home Dementia care provider of choice in Toronto and Mississauga. Cathy Barrick, the current CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, shared in the press release announcing our partnership that:
“Training personal support workers (PSWs) and other frontline health professionals is one way we know that we can dramatically improve the quality of life for people living with dementia and their families. Through this partnership, Integracare is demonstrating a unique commitment to providing the best possible care for their clients and all Torontonians living with this disease.”
According to the Alzheimer Society of Toronto, Integracare is a “Dementia Friendly” provider. We are the only home health care company with this distinction.
ADLS for Dementia Care in Toronto & Mississauga
Integracare Caregivers provide several in home Dementia Care services, including assistance with the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Seniors living with Dementia may struggle to perform essential self-care tasks due to loss of memory, cognitive function, and motor skills. This can put a strain on families, which is why many rely on nursing care in Toronto and Mississauga to help them provide comprehensive care for their loved ones.
If you’re not sure if a Caregiver is right for your family, learn more about the Activities of Daily Living and how a Caregiver can help with them:
Personal Hygiene: Bathing and showering, dental care, nail care, and other essential grooming tasks can be difficult with reduced coordination and mobility.
Eating: Food preparation is often one of the first tasks taken over by a Caregiver, as cooking can be dangerous for someone with reduced coordination and memory loss. Eating as an ADL includes the ability to ingest food independently, which is something that may they may require assistance with much later.
Transferring and Mobility: Transferring refers to the act of moving from one place to another, i.e., standing up from a chair, walking independently, getting into bed, or getting into the bathtub independently. This can be very difficult for a family member alone to handle as it requires training and strength.
Dressing: Both the cognitive ability to make appropriate decisions about clothing and the coordination and mobility required to physically dress or undress oneself.
Continence: The physical and mental capacity to use the bathroom can be lost as symptoms progress, while limited mobility and the inability to get on and off the toilet can exacerbate the issue.
Assistance with ADLs requires a Caregiver who is compassionate and caring. They must be sensitive to Clients and eager to help. This is why Integracare goes to such lengths to ensure every Caregiver in the Integracare family is appropriately educated to provide adequate care.
Integracare’s Additional Services
There’s more to at home care than assistance with ADLs, which is why we offer additional services that can benefit the growth and fulfilment of our Clients. People who utilize Integracare for at-home Dementia Care in Toronto or Mississauga are able to benefit from Massage Therapy, Physiotherapy, Wound Care, and Advocacy as needed.
Massage Therapy
The role of Massage Therapy is to provide an effective alternative (or supplement) to medication that eases many of the behavioural symptoms that can arise as a result of Dementia.
Massage Therapy can also reduce a Client’s sense of loneliness and isolation as it provides a human touch. Touch is an important way to ease anxiety and build trust between a Client and their Caregiver.
Alleviating anxiety can also decrease physical agitation, which can manifest as pacing, wandering, or resistance to care. For Clients with mobility issues who are at risk of a sedentary lifestyle, Massage Therapy can also increase blood flow and prevent related injuries such as sores.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy at home can help people to improve their recovery time after surgery or injury. Without Physiotherapy to improve recovery and the rehabilitation process, injuries can have long-lasting consequences.
Integracare provides Physiotherapy at home to make living much easier for Clients, especially those for whom mobility may be a concern.
We understand that transportation and getting to Physiotherapy appointments can be a challenge for families, which is why we offer cost-effective and efficient Physiotherapy services. It is of the utmost importance to us that our Clients receive treatment with dignity and in the familiar environment of their own home. Integracare Physiotherapists offer treatment to all Clients as an essential part of our home care services in Toronto and Mississauga.
Wound Care
Alongside Physiotherapy, some Clients may also require Wound Care as part of their home nursing in Toronto and Mississauga. Integracare’s Caregivers boast specialized training in Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care to provide professional assessing, treating, and caring for wounds.
A Registered Nurse will create a wound care plan after assessing a wound and the area around it. This plan includes identifying and applying the right dressing or treatment, changing dressings as required, and removing clips and sutures post-surgery.
Advocacy
At Integracare, our Caregivers act as healthcare advocates for you or your loved one’s dignity and comfort with medical professionals. Our Caregivers can visit Clients’ homes or visit them in a hospital or a care facility to fill in any gaps in care and advocate for their best interests. Our Caregivers work closely with families to provide better quality care and living.
Home Nursing & At-Home Dementia Care in Toronto and Mississauga
Integracare boasts a staff of Registered Nurses (RNs), Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs), Personal Support Workers (PSWs), Registered Physiotherapists, and Registered Massage Therapists (RMTs) who are all equipped to provide professional home health care in Toronto and Mississauga.
We are the only home health care company that provides education in all four facets of Dementia Care in Toronto and Mississauga for 100% of its Caregivers. This makes us confident that we can provide the highest quality of home care for our Clients.
This level of care requires an in-depth understanding of a Client’s special needs and preferences. You can trust our Caregivers who are well educated and have their Client’s best interests in mind.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of Dementia or showing symptoms of reduced cognitive ability, give us a call or get a free in-home assessment. We can help you and your family to come up with a plan for in home Dementia Care in Toronto. Integracare is committed to helping our Clients live joyfully in a familiar community, with the dignity and comfort of ageing in place. Better care happens at home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Symptoms manifest as four main type of Dementia:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Vascular
- Lewy Body
- Frontotemporal
There are typically symptoms that indicate the early stages. These include:
- Memory Loss
- Personality and Mood Changes
- Social Withdrawal
- Trouble with Problem Solving
The difference between the two is that while Dementia refers to the overall mental decline that can be caused by various conditions, Alzheimer’s is a specific type of degenerative brain disease.